The British actor has said that he doesn't understand the furore surrounding Gibson's 2006 remarks.

Gary Oldman has become the centre of his own controversy after dipping into the enduring furore surrounding anti-Semitic comments that fellow actor Mel Gibson made in 2006. The Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy actor features in a new interview with Playboy magazine in which he airs his disbelief over the outrage that followed Gibson's outburst.

Describing those who chastised Gibson as "f**king hypocrites," Oldman added "We've all said those things." The 56 year-old continued "We all hide and try to be so politically correct. That's what gets me. I think it's like, take a f**king joke. Get over it."

Gibson was arrested for drink-driving in Malibu and after asking whether the police officer was Jewish, said "F**king Jews. The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world." The filmmaker apologised, saying the comments were "blurted out in a moment of insanity" and branding the incident as "despicable behaviour."

Caesar was the world's first genetically modified ape, who was more than let down by his supposedly caring human conterparts as he grew older and wiser, with the ability to communicate like a human being. Now living in a world where apes rule over the Earth, and over the few remaining humans after a deadly virus swept the planet nearly ten years ago, Caesar has every right to feel unsympathetic. The humans appeal to the apes for peace but most of them are brutal and merciless in response, unwilling to let mankind rule over the planet again. However, Caesar sees that unless they can live in peace, everyone will die and he starts to feel that perhaps there's more good in humans than he was starting to believe. As a devastating war breaks out, he bonds with a man he likens to the scientist who brought him up and decides to find a way to help everyone live in harmony, risking his own life for both their races.

'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' is the unnerving sequel to the 2011 sci-fi 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes'. Both are precursors to the 'Planet of the Apes' franchise, and 'Dawn...' has been directed by Matt Reeves ('The Pallbearer', 'Let Me In', 'Cloverfield') alongside writers Mark Bomback ('The Wolverine'), Scott Z. Burns ('The Bourne Ultimatum'), Rick Jaffa ('The Relic') and Amanda Silver ('The Hand That Rocks the Cradle'). It is due for release on July 17th 2014.

Earth has become a post-apocalyptic nightmare inhabited by the few survivors of a virus that plagued the globe nearly ten years ago, affecting only humans and destroying civilisation. Now, a breed of genetically modified apes whose intelligence and strength exceed far beyond the mental capabilities of mankind are well on their way to becoming the rulers of the planet - a power that the humans aren't about to give up in a hurry. They are led by the ruthless original 'improved' primate Caesar, and the once immaculately built-up cities of the world have overgrown into isolated wilderness. With apes on the warpath and mankind struggling to rebuild their homes and their lives in the face of the oncoming menace, the two races must join together and form some kind of peaceful truce, lest the fate of the world becomes even more dismal.

With a strong cast and striking production values, this thriller is sleek enough to hold our interest even if corporate espionage isn't a very exciting topic for the movies. As the title suggests, the film is trying to tap into the fear that our lives are being controlled by technology. But the script never goes anywhere with this idea, instead drifting through the usual plot involving shady bad guys, dark conspiracies and plucky heroics. All of which we've seen far too many times before.

It centres on young technical genius Adam (Hemsworth), who needs cash to pay the medical bills for his ill father (Dreyfuss). Working with his pal Kevin (Till), he goes for a big promotion but is instead sacked by his boss Wyatt (Oldman). The next morning, Wyatt makes Adam an offer he can't refuse: a chance to earn a fortune by spying on chief competitor Goddard (Ford). But this new undercover job brings all kinds of worries as Adam sees shadowy nastiness lurking around every corner. He's also suspicious that a recent one-night stand, Emma (Heard), works for Goddard. And that there's a strange man (Holloway) following his every move.

Rather than explore corrupt corporate culture or the idea that technology has eroded our privacy, the filmmakers create a fairly pedestrian thriller that tries to blind us with fake techno-speak and corny emotions. The plot continually hints that it will get darker and more momentous, but it never does. All of the stakes feel oddly small, the chain of events doesn't quite hang together and the characters never feel like more than rough outlines.

Director Jose Padilha tried to keep it faithful to the original, but will that work in the film's favor?

27 years after RoboCop, despite technological advances, cyborgs are still a way off, so we were just about overdue for a reboot of the original. The brand new RoboCop hits theaters this week, with a slightly updated, but still very recognizable story. Joel Kinnaman (most recently known from AMC’s The Killing) stars as Alex Murphy, a wounded police officer who’s given a prototype robotic body by a cold corporate tycoon (Michael Keaton). Cue crime fighting and identity crisis.

It turns out that Joel Kinnaman may have actually pulled it off.

The story is relatively unchanged, as are a lot of the details in the film. Director Jose Padilha made a point of preserving as much as possible from the classic film, as he tells USA Today. Still, there are a few instantly noticeable changes (beyond the use of CGI) that give the film an updated feel.

The 'Southland' actor will play DC Comics' iconic police commissioner.

Ben McKenzie has landed the role of Commissioner Gordon, one of the leads in Gotham, Fox's upcoming Batman series. The O.C's actor will play a young James Gordon who works as an homicide detective before eventually becoming Commissioner Gordon. The show will also reportedly include younger versions of Bruce Wayne, his Butler Alfred and villains The Joker, Catwoman, the Riddler and the Penguin.

Ben McKenzie Will Play Commissioner Gordon In Fox's 'Gotham.'

Gordon's character was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane in 1939 and has served since as a key asset to Batman's crime-fighting motives as the franchise grew to be the most prized DC property. Gotham's plotlines will focus on Gordon's career and "the villains that made Gotham famous" before Batman arrived on the scene, reports Deadline.

There are many rumors flying around as to who’ll play who in the upcoming Star Wars reboot, helmed by J.J Abrams. The franchise has gone from disappointing endings to prospective rebirth in the space of a year, and Gary Oldman could be one of the faces to rejuvenate the franchise.

"They've called," said Oldman. "I don't know if its, er … You know, I'm more cynical about it now. I'll believe it when I'm on the plane home. The deal isn't done, but yeah, they've inquired. I mean Planet of the Apes ,Harry Potter, Batman and Star Wars ... bloody hell!"

There's a robust, intelligent tone to this action remake that makes it continually intriguing, even if it's never properly exciting. The problem is that the characters are far too simplistic for us to care about, with moral dilemmas that are extremely cut and dried. Because the premise deals with several provocative themes, it wouldn't have taken much work to beef up the screenplay.

Set in the near future when American military robots patrol the world but are outlawed at home, the story centres on Omnicorp boss Sellars (Keaton), who is determined to sell his robots to the US market as police enforcers. So he decides to get around the law by putting a man inside a robot, drafting seriously injured Detroit cop Murphy (Kinnaman) as his guinea pig. Doctor Norton (Oldman) does an amazing job, building a machine around Murphy with extremely high technical capabilities. But Murphy can't help but worry about his wife (Cornish) and son, and he's obsessed with revenge over his attempted murder. So Norton is forced to use chemicals to suppress his emotions.

In other words, Murphy is actually more machine than man now, and operates at the whim of Sellars and his media spokesperson (Ehle), marketing nerd (Baruchel) and a rabid TV host (Jackson) to manipulate the US Congress to change the law. This greedy corporation gives the film a bite of satire, as does the issue of America's rampant willingness to brutally suppress anyone outside its borders. But without even a shading of complexity, the plot feels predictable and, frankly, rather dull. It's fun to watch everything happen, but our pulse rates never rise at all.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes looks to be the part of the franchise where it all hits the fan.

The newly released trailer for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is about as dark as an “end of the world” movie can be and just as exciting. The short clip, released by 20th Century Fox on Wednesday, includes Gary Oldman giving a rousing speech to his small band of survivors, who managed to outlast a deadly virus and subsequent war. Meanwhile we, the audience, get to see flashes of the devastation left behind. The clip is just a teaser though, so maybe fans will get a better idea of the story in an upcoming extended trailer.

To top it off, the trailer then cuts to Andy Cerkis’ newly terryfying Ceasar. This is not the intelligent, mild ape James Franco’s character befriended in 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes (the titles are bound to get really confusing at some point) – this Ceasar is all war paint and fury. As the camera pulls away and we get a glimpse of the gathering ape army, the message of the trailer becomes abundantly clear – humanity is well and truly doomed by now.

Nearing a decade after a massive percentage of human civilisation was destroyed after a virus affecting only mankind spread its way across the globe, a breed of genetically modified apes with intelligence beyond normal capacity are on the verge of ruling the Earth, led by the original genetically reformed primate, Caesar. The once immaculate cities have become wild, with only a few survivors left to take on the challenge of rebuilding their lives - but it's something they are unlikely to achieve until some sort of peace is reached between the humans and apes. When that fails, the only thing left is war; something that could turn brutal enough to wipe out both species on their quest for dominance.

Joel Kinnaman will don the robotic suit and try to rid the streets of crime.

The 1987 sci-fi adventure Robocop is being remade for a new generation, with a new movie due out next year. Director José Padilha has managed to assemble a stellar cast of actors, including Samuel L. Johnson, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton and Joel Kinnaman, in a movie that looks dazzlingly high-impact.

Joel Kinnaman Takes To The Suit As The Legendary Robocop.

Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) is a Detroit police officer living a relatively peaceful life with his wife Clara (Abbie Cornish) and his young son David in 2028. Alex's life is turned upside down when a bomb goes off in his car and he is left with 80% burns on his body. Alex's chance of returning to his ordinary life or even surviving are looking slim until robot tech developers OmniCorp spot an opportunity to create a new robotic, crime-fighting soldier using Alex's body and keen mind for the law.

Alex Murphy is a hard-working police officer who lives an ordinary life with his beautiful wife Clara and young son David. However, his life is swiftly turned upside down when a bomb in his car explodes leaving him with 70% burns all over his body. Meanwhile, the multinational corporation OmniCorp who have been sending out robot technology abroad for warfare purposes are now coming up with other ideas; namely to deal with the increased crime rate of Detroit. They create a robot with the intention of programming it to target major wanted criminals, but on discovering Murphy's predicament and seeing how he has lost two limbs from his accident, they decide to kill two birds with one stone by fixing him into the suit so that he's able to continue working as a cop, but with more power than he could ever have imagined. The suit has been created to give him the illusion of free will while being externally controlled, however that changes when Murphy begins to use the suit for his own means.

'Robocop' is the upcoming remake of the 1987 sci-fi action flick of the same name directed by Paul Verhoeven. This adaptation has been helmed by Jose Padilha ('Elite Squad', 'Bus 174') and written by Nick Schenk ('Gran Torino'), James Vanderbilt ('The Amazing Spider-Man') and Joshua Zetumer. It will be reaching UK cinemas on February 7th 2014.

Police Commissioner James Gordon from the Batman action comics and films is about to get his own spin-off television series thanks to TV network FOX who won a bidding war to air the new show, reports Deadline.

The series, currently entitled Gotham, has bypassed the tentative pilot stage and has been given a straight-to-series order which shows just how keen the network are for the Warner Bros. produced Batman spin-off. The series will apparently focus on the detective James Gordon's career and "the villains that made Gotham famous" before Batman arrived on the scene.

The age of TV has officially begun. It actually started quite a while ago, but it took some pretty serious nagging to bleed into the consciousness of the masses. And now that Breaking Bad has had its say on the small screen, every superhero has turned round in tandem and said the following words: “I want me some of that action.”

The decision to resurrect 'RoboCop' was met with groans, but the first trailer for the film actually makes the latest unnecessary reboot from Hollywood look pretty damn good

Joel Kinnaman will star as Alex Murphy/RoboCop in the upcoming reboot of cult 80's action movie RoboCop. This, like sop many other recent reboots, was a film that few people wanted or expected to be any good, however if the first official trailer for the film is anything to go by, then the naysayers may be proved wrong after all because from the look of the 2 and a half minute clip, the film doesn't look half bad.

Joel Kinnaman stars as Alex Murphy/RoboCop

With established stars like Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton and Gary Oldman featuring in the film, there is a presence of experience that is comforting to see for fans of the original film, and the action sequences that are teased look pretty decent too. On top of this, the glimpses of the storyline make it look as though the writers have given their own take on the original source material, rather than just rip off the 1987 classic.

The new 'Robocop' trailer creates nostalgia as the Cyborg law enforcer is back better than ever, to restore the justice system!

The Robocop reboot trailer has just hit the web and the revised, futuristic action film has already indicated differences from the original 1987 film. Joel Kinnaman stars as police officer Alex James Murphy, who eventually becomes 'Robocop'.

Joel Kinnaman stars as the new 'Robocop'

The year is in the not too distant future, 2028, and the USA have decided to 'upgrade' their justice system with a crime fighting cyborg, half human/half robot. The law abiding citizens of Detroit will see a new addition to the police force as 'Robocop' pursues justice for the crime ridden city.

Actress Amber Heard has openly voiced her feelings towards her sexuality in an interview with Elle. Reported by E! News, the 27 year-old, who now dates actor Johnny Depp, came out in 2010 and has since spoken about how although she doesn't see herself following a "standardised path," that's the way she likes life.

A Great Role Model, Amber Heard Is Proud Of Who She Is.

Speaking to the women's magazine, she spoke of how she has a tendency to shy away from the girl-next-door character types in favour of more active roles: "I try to play characters who are somehow empowered or strong," Heard said. "People want to put me in a wedding dress and make me the object of affection, but I'd much rather shoot the gun and save the world. I've always fought against what was expected of me as much as I could."

Based on the 2004 novel of the same name, Liam Hemsworth's new movie Paranoia actually might not be instantly forgettable. The Hunger Games actor plays technology whizz Adam Cassidy who attempts to balance caring for his ailing father while working a low-paid job at a technology conglomerate. His fortunes begin to turn when his boss Nicholas Wyatt (Gary Oldman) offers him the chance to get rich quick.

Cassidy quickly learns that the job involves infiltrating the firm's biggest rival business (led by his old mentor Jock Goddard) in a dangerous act of espionage. Despite completing the job, Adam's resignation is refused - he now knows too much.

Adam Cassidy is a technology whizz who wants nothing more than to take care of his ailing father who is struggling to live in poverty-stricken retirement despite working all his life. He has a low-paid job at a massive technology corporation but is presented with the chance of a lifetime by his boss Nicholas Wyatt who tells him he can make him rich. However, this involves infiltrating the firm's biggest rival business led by Wyatt's old mentor Jock Goddard in a plot of dangerous espionage to uncover their biggest secret. He finally succeeds in obtaining a revolutionary piece of equipment and presenting it to Wyatt, but he finds himself trapped as his boss refuses to let him leave the company as he now knows too much. Realising that he and his beloved father are in danger not only from Wyatt but from Goddard as well after discovering their ploy, he sets out to use what they taught him to destroy what they built.

Based on the 2004 novel of the same name by Joseph Finder, 'Paranoia' has been directed by Robert Luketic ('Legally Blonde', 'Monster-in-Law', 'Killers') with a screenplay by Jason Dean Hall ('Spread') and Barry Levy ('Vantage Point'). This corporate action thriller is set to hit the US on August 16th 2013.

Bram Stoker, the Irish novelist who created Dracula, was born 165 years ago today (November 8, 2012). Google's latest doodle celebrates the author, who wrote 19 books in total though will always be best known for his vampire creation.

Dracula was actually Stoker's fifth book, published in 1897 after he'd spent several years studying mythological stories and folklore. He took most of his inspiration after staying in the North Yorkshire seaside town of Whitby, where he was trying to establish if the location would be suitable for a family holiday. Though not an initial bestseller, Dracula has since become a key text in vampire literature and the horror fiction canon and has spawned numerous television series and movie adaptations. Overblown in the most positive sense of the word, Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula (1992) put the horror back into Dracula, after decades of camp interpretations. Starring Gary Oldman as the Count himself, the film boasted a stellar cast that also included Sir Anthony Hopkins, Winona Ryder, Richard E. Grant and Keanu Reeves. Writing for the New York Times, Vincent Canby said, "With Dracula it's apparent that Mr. Coppola's talent and exuberance survive," while Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote, "Overall, this Dracula could have been less heavy and more deliciously evil than it is, but it does offer a sumptuous engorgement of the senses."

The movie won a flurry of technical awards, including the Oscar for Best Costume Design, Best Sound Effects Editing and Best Makeup. Coppola and Oldman also won the Saturn Awards for Best Director and Best Actor respectively.

Director Hillcoat and musician-turned-screenwriter Cave previously worked together back home in Australia on the dark Western The Proposition, and now they have reunited in America for this true story set during Prohibition in the early 1930s. Unsurprisingly, it plays out like a Western. And it also features two of The Proposition's memorable actors, Pearce and Taylor.

The story centres on the three Bondurant brothers in rural Virginia. Eldest sibling Forrest (Hardy) runs the family moonshine business with middle brother Howard (Clarke). But the younger Jack (LaBeouf) wants in on the action and secretly teams up with whiz-kid Cricket (DeHaan) to speed up production and sell their wares to a big-city gangster (Oldman). Then slimy city-slicker Federal Agent Rakes (Pearce) arrives, determined to stop bootlegging no matter who he has to torture and kill. Meanwhile, a sexy barmaid (Chastain) with a shady past arrives to distract Forrest, while Jack daringly woos the rebellious daughter (Wasikowska) of the local preacher.

The Bondurant Brothers, Forrest, Howard and Jack, take up lawless methods of achieving the American Dream during the Depression in Franklin County, Virginia. Soon their illegal money-making schemes, including selling their home brewed moonshine in their saloon, attract the attention of the local law enforcement who recruit a corrupt inner-city cop, Charlie Rakes, to break the brothers and force them to give him shares in their profits. In an attempt to gain his brothers' respect and win the heart of the pure and well brought up Bertha who seeks danger and excitement, the suggestible and smart Jack partners with the brutal and, quite frankly, untrustworthy city gangster Floyd Banner - things start to become strained for the Bondurants when the 'indestructible' Forrest is seriously injured and loyalty among the brothers is questioned.

When the credits roll at the end of this overlong action epic, it feels like we've just turned the final page of an immersive novel. It takes about an hour to find its stride, but Nolan's final Batman movie is also thunderously complex and entertaining.

It's eight years later, and Commissioner Gordon (Oldman) has allowed the press to create a myth that Batman was a villain. Badly injured, Bruce Wayne (Bale) has become a recluse, tended to by his butler Alfred (Caine). Then a new baddie arrives: Bane (Hardy) is part of the League of Shadows, trained by Bruce's old nemesis Ra's al Ghul (Neeson) to purge the world of human decadence. So Bruce turns to Wayne company boss Lucius (Freeman) to get back in fighting shape, deciding to trust a slippery cat burglar (Hathaway) and a rookie cop (Gordon-Levitt).

Among arrivals at New York City's 'The Dark Knight Rises' premiere were stars Gary Oldman and Tom Hardy; Oldman with jazz singer wife Alexandra Edenborough and Hardy with 'Easy Virtue' actress and wife Charlotte Riley. Former 'American Idol' contestant and frontman of rock band Daughtry also made an appearance. His involvement in the Batman franchise included his recording of the song 'Drown in You' for the 2011 video game 'Batman: Arkham City'.

Oldman ('Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy') recently expressed a career scare to Jimmy Kimmel on his show when he managed to lose his 'Dark Knight Rises' script in his hotel room and was worried it would be found and leaked. It was, however, retrieved within minutes

BAFTA award winning Oldman, 54, has appeared in numerous blockbusters playing a variety of different characters including Sirius Black in 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix', Lieutenant James Gordon in 'The Dark Knight', Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg in 'The Fifth Element' and Stansfield in 'Leon'. He will appear in the final of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy 'The Dark Knight Rises' and new crime drama film 'Lawless'

Gary Oldman - Gary Oldman and Alexandra Edenborough Monday 7th May 2012 attend the after party for the 'Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations' Costume Institute exhibition

Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham after eight years in The Dark Knight Rises, his alias Batman nursing a sore reputation after the last film, The Dark Knight, where he assumed responsibility for the attorney Harvey Dent's crimes in order to protect Dent's name after he loses his life during The Joker's assault on the city. This time he intends to defend Gotham City from a new villain: the virtually indestructible Bane who, as discovered by Commissioner Gordon, is plotting the obliteration of the entire city from the inside.

It has been eight years since Harvey Dent was killed, during the Joker's killing spree. Billionaire Bruce Wayne accepted responsibility for Dent's death and left Gotham. The city has now recovered from the shocking events and is living in peace.

British actor Gary Oldman (Batman Begins; Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban; A Christmas Carol) attends a press junket for his movie "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York. Gary talks about an old news story regarding himself and Robert De Niro stating that he'd beaten up Robert De Niro, whom he had never met at the time; Gary reveals that the story wasn't true and he had to take time to convince his mother and friends. He also talks about swimming in Hampstead Pond in London at the end of October, which he remembers was 'deathly cold'.

Gary can next be seen in the highly anticipated movie The Dark Knight Rises, the third movie in the hugely successful rebooted Batman franchise. Gary will be reprising his role as Commissioner Jim Gordon and will be starring alongside Christian Bale and Anne Hathaway, playing Batman and Catwoman respectively

It's rare to see a film in which writers, director and cast all respect the intelligence of their audience. So when it happens, it's something to savour.

Especially when it shows as much audacious skill as this British thriller does.

In the Cold War paranoia of 1973, there's a Russian mole in British intelligence. And the top boss Control (Hurt) has narrowed it down to four top colleagues (Firth, Jones, Hinds and Dencik). He asks faithful George Smiley (Oldman) to root out the spy, so he and Peter (Cumberbatch) begin a complex investigation that involves a discredited agent (Hardy) and a murdered operative (Strong). But the truth only seems to get more elusive the further they descend into the rabbit hole.

Harry Potter and his friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, continue their search for Voldemort's Horcruxes - dark magical objects that help the user gain immortality. Having found and destroyed one Horcrux - a locket belonging to Hogwarts founder Salazar Slytherin - the three friends travel from Ron's older brother Bill Weasley's house by the sea to the wizarding bank, Gringotts and then to Hogwarts to look for the final remaining Horcruxes.

Jack Black's cuddly alter-ego is back for another epic adventure in this lively, colourful sequel. It pretty much has the same plot as the final act of the 2008 original, and it's not quite as funny, but it's beautifully animated and thoroughly engaging.

Now that Dragon Warrior panda Po (voiced by Black) has joined the Furious Five (Jolie's tigress, Rogen's mantis, Chan's monkey, Liu's viper and Cross' crane), there's peace in the valley again. But in a distant kingdom, the villainous peacock Lord Shen (Oldman) has developed a secret weapon with which he plans to take over China and put an end to kung fu. Although he's been rattled for decades, since his soothsayer (Yeoh) told him he'll be conquered by a panda.

What more can come for the Panda who has it all? Since gaining the respect of his heroes - Master Shifu and the furious five - and defeating the evil snow leopard Tai Lung, Po's life in the Valley of Peace is perfect but it isn't to last.

These filmmakers may be guilty of being fanatical about football but, for a narrative documentary, this is a remarkably entertaining film even for non-fans. And it does manage to evoke the passion for the beautiful game.

The movie's thesis is that the 1990 World Cup semi-final in Turin, between England and West Germany, was a pivotal moment in English football history. And they really work to make their case, starting with the economic and political chaos in Britain at the time, along with national outrage over England manager Bobby Robson, fuelled by vicious tabloid headlines. People were still feeling bruised by Maradona's Hand of God (in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final), and no one trusted the new hothead star Paul Gascoigne.

The quintessential Christmas classic gets yet another movie incarnation with this visually impressive version from effects wizard Zemeckis. For most of us, all the surprises here are visual, and it's well worth seeing in 3D.

For seven years after his business partner Marley dies, Ebenezer Scrooge (Carrey) ruthlessly pinches his pennies, underpaying his assistant Bob Cratchit (Oldman) and neglecting the family of his nephew Fred (Firth). Then on Christmas Eve, Marley's ghost informs Scrooge that he will be visited by three ghosts, and that night Scrooge takes a terrifying odyssey through his past, present and future, realising that he has completely missed the point of his life. And of Christmas.

Have you ever noticed how one measly letter separates "laughter" from "slaughter?"

I almost missed this off-the-cuff joke -- it's spray-painted on the side of a semi as the Joker (Heath Ledger) descends on a police convoy hustling doomed district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) beneath the streets of Gotham. But it beautifully captures the balancing act director Christopher Nolan attempts in The Dark Knight, an anticipated blockbuster that seems capable at any point of plunging headlong into hilarity or insanity, moral stability or absolute chaos.

It's gotten to the point where the quality of the films don't really matter: Now I feel like I'm committed to the whole Harry Potter series. I've reviewed the first five now, so by golly, I'm going to stick it out and finish the lot... even though I still can't bring myself to read any of the books. As always, consider yourself warned that I don't know the intricate backstory developed over thousands of pages in J.K. Rowling's writing. And really, I'm happy to keep it that way.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix continues in the tradition of following another year at the Hogwarts School of Wizardry, where Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) has faced nothing but grueling struggle after grueling struggle. His most recent year (Goblet of Fire) saw a friend get killed by his nemesis, the evil Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes), who's gaining more power every day and giving Harry severe nightmares. With few exceptions, his friends have largely abandoned him, and the new term comes with even more headaches in the form of Dolores Umbridge (the perfect Imelda Staunton), sent from the Ministry of Magic to teach the defense from the dark arts class and eventually taking over the school as an iron-fisted, fun-crushing bureaucrat.

After much pottering about (ha ha!), the film finally finds its groove as Umbridge goes too far, refusing to teach magic in the classroom, instead preferring to rely on theoretical knowledge so the students can pass their year-end standardized tests. With Voldemort approaching (this guy is always just around the corner), Harry becomes more nervous that he will be unable to defend himself, finally recruiting a handful of students to his cause to teach them what he knows about magical combat. Together they prepare for the day when they know they'll have to use those skills. (In case you haven't seen any of the first four movies, rest assured it isn't far off: This end-of-movie showdown between Harry and the forces of evil has almost become a cliché that pans out every single time.)